Calvin and Hobbes playing together without a care in the world, while others depict the less fun things about childhood, like school, chores, and bedtimes.

One of the main things the comic strip captures is how much kids love playing outside. Six-year-old playing their made-up game Calvinball and watching TV. However, the thing they like to do the most is simply hang out outside, oftentimes just walking through the woods by Calvin’s house. Through Calvin’s eyes, readers experience the wonder of nature as only a child sees it, and these 10 Calvin and Hobbes comics capture that perfectly.

10 Calvin’s Love of Nature has Made Him Lose Faith in Humanity (on a Cosmic Scale)

Calvin and Hobbes are walking through the woods together, taking in the beauty of nature around them. Their walk reminds Calvin of something he read about how countless species are being pushed to the brink of extinction due to the rate at which humans are destroying forests around the world. Calvin then says that this is why he's sure there is intelligent life on other planets, because none of them have ed humans.

Calvin has already lost faith in humanity after exposing himself to how harmful humans can be to the planet, and the other life forms that inhabit it. Calvin believes humans basically destroy everything they touch, so if aliens do exist, then they're smart to stay far away from Earth.

9 Hobbes Convinces Calvin that Happiness Can Be Found in Nature

While Calvin and Hobbes are hanging out together in the middle of an open field on a sunny day, Calvin asks Hobbes what he would wish for if he could wish for anything in the world. Hobbes tells Calvin that all he'd wish for is a sunny field, which is exactly where they were at that moment. Calvin loses it on Hobbes, saying that he's thinking too small. Calvin says that he could wish for riches, power, or literally anything other than what he already has. But then, Hobbes shows Calvin how happy he is just being in a sunny field, and Calvin is totally convinced.

Hobbes shows Calvin that happiness can be found in nature, with no reason to want anything else. Initially, Calvin doesn't get it, but he eventually sees what Hobbes is talking about - and even comes to agree with him.

8 Calvin and Hobbes Learn to Appreciate the Good, Even with the Bad

As Calvin and Hobbes are walking around outside together, Hobbes comments that he loves everything about fall, from the cooler weather to the softer natural light. Calvin counters Hobbes points, saying that fall is just an indication that winter is coming, and is too fleeting to fully enjoy. However, Hobbes points out that, if good things lasted forever, people wouldn't even realize they were good in the first place, and Calvin sees his point.

Calvin has a point that fall is merely an indicator of the coming of winter, but as Hobbes points out, that's no reason to not enjoy it while it's here. Every season is fleeting, and nature is constantly changing, so it's important to take advantage of the moment and appreciate nature in all its forms.

7 Calvin and Hobbes Take Advantage of a Fresh Snowfall

Calvin and Hobbes go outside one morning to find the ground totally covered in fresh snow, and they don't waste a second taking full advantage of it. The two break out their sled and immediately head to the nearest hill, all the while talking about how wonderful it is outside. Not only that, but Calvin and Hobbes are more optimistic than ever in this comic, using the beauty and wonder of nature as a metaphor for how bright and full of possibilities their futures are.

This is actually the last Calvin and Hobbes comic strip that was ever published, and it acts as the perfect send-off. Not only is it incredibly optimistic, but it also highlights the wonders of nature as seen through the eyes of a kid who's going to take full advantage of this awesome snow day.

6 Hobbes Teaches Calvin How to Appreciate Nature’s Beauty without Compromising It

Calvin excitedly runs up to Hobbes to show the anthropomorphic tiger that he had just caught a butterfly in a jar. Calvin clearly saw this butterfly and thought it was so beautiful that he just had to capture it. That way, he could look at the butterfly anytime he wanted. While he didn't outwardly scold Calvin, Hobbes did express his disappointment with what he saw by saying, "If people could put rainbows in zoos, they'd do it". After a moment of contemplative silence, Calvin understood exactly what Hobbes was saying, and promptly released the butterfly.

Hobbes teaches Calvin that the best way to appreciate nature's beauty isn't to capture it (which only compromises that beauty), but to allow it to simply exist, and look at it from a distance - and it's a lesson that Calvin takes to heart.

5 Calvin and Hobbes Contemplate the Nature of Life After Seeing a Dead Bird

While walking along together one day, Calvin and Hobbes come across a dead bird lying on the ground. Calvin comments on how delicate and beautiful the little bird looks. He also takes note of the fact that he wouldn't have been able to appreciate this bird's beauty if it was still alive. That makes Calvin think about the nature of life, and how people only really appreciate things after they're gone.

Calvin wonders why people don't take this into consideration while living their lives before realizing that most people try to think about death as little as possible in order to go about their daily lives. Indeed, Calvin and Hobbes are faced with one of the harshest realities of nature, and while they may not understand it, they still find beauty in it.

4 Hobbes Keeps Calvin from Becoming the Very Thing He Despises Most

In an instance when the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip takes readers into an imaginative world shaped by Calvin, fans see the two best friends sitting on the surface of Mars, enjoying the fact that there are no people to sully its natural beauty. There are no plazas, cities, or traffic on Mars, just the untouched mountains and planes that make up its surface. However, as they're iring the Martian beauty, Calvin drops a candy bar wrapper on the ground, and Hobbes calls him out for it immediately.

Calvin regularly criticizes how humans have treated Planet Earth, yet in this comic strip, he becomes just as bad as the rest of them, as he litters on a planet untouched by human civilization. While Calvin corrects his mistake against Martian nature, he nearly becomes the very thing he despises most.

3 Calvin and Hobbes Uses Sarcasm to Highlight the Beauty of Nature

Calvin and Hobbes are sitting on the shore of a body of water, watching the sun set behind the horizon. Birds fly around them, clouds decorate the sky, and the water shimmers with a kind of beauty that can only be experienced. While taking in this marvel of natural beauty, Calvin says to Hobbes, "I'll bet I'm missing some great TV shows", as if anything on television could compare to what he's witnessing in this comic strip.

It's clear that Calvin is being sarcastic in a manner that only serves to highlight how magnificent this moment really is, and his sarcasm certainly has the desired effect. In fact, seeing Calvin and Hobbes appreciating nature by watching this sunset makes readers want to go out and experience one for themselves, far away from "great TV shows".

2 Calvin’s Dad Decides Work Can Wait to Play Outside with Calvin

Calvin notices that it's begun to snow outside, and he doesn't want to play in it alone, so Calvin asks his dad if he'll play out in the snow with him. Calvin's dad tells Calvin that he's working, and doesn't have time to go out and play. Disappointed, Calvin goes outside by himself, leaving his dad to his work. After a few minutes, Calvin's dad decides that work can wait, and he meets his son outside where they build a snowman together - and Calvin couldn't have been happier.

Sometimes, it's so easy to let the most important things in life slip away, but the very nature of life is temporary, so it's important to keep one's priorities in perspective. In this case, Calvin's dad chose to play with his son over being extra productive at work, and that choice made all the difference to both of them.

1 Calvin and Hobbes Take In the Cosmic Wonders of the Night Sky

Calvin and Hobbes go outside one night to look up at the night sky, gazing at the countless stars above them. Calvin says that he thinks the world would be a better place if people took the time to look at the stars. When Hobbes asks why that is, Calvin responds, "when you look into infinity, you realize that there are more important things than what people do all day".

Calvin is absolutely correct in his line of thinking, even if it is a bit optimistic. If one considers the unfathomable nature of infinity and humanity's position in the universe, things like having a job, buying a house, and anything to do with money seem laughably insignificant. However, most people won't come to that conclusion upon looking at the stars, as that takes a level of humility and appreciation for nature that most people lack - but Calvin isn't one of them. That's why this is one of the 10 best Calvin and Hobbes comics about the call of nature.